Control device for winding machines



Dec. 5, 1950 E. J. HEIZER arm. 2,532,304

CONTROL DEVICE FOR WINDING MACHINES Filed Dec. 19, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet l h "1:5 Qrwemkow i I 62 J! Edward J. Heizer Meredith E. Stuart 3% 1950 E. J. HEIZER ETAL 2,532,304

CONTROL DEVICE FOR WINDING MACHINES Filed Dec. 19, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I N M mIF'H mime m N N Edward J. Heizer 95% Meredith R. Stuart Patented Dec. 5, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CONTROL DEVICE FOR WINDING MACHINES Application December 19, 1946, Serial No. 717,188

11 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to machines for winding yarn, thread or other filaments, and more particularly relates to improvements in devices for controlling the density and size of the packages wound by such machines.

The present invention is adapted to be practiced in connection with winding machines in which a thread is caused to reciprocate while feeding onto a package through means carried by a support known as a back, the package being wound on a rotatable package support, the back and-the support being relatively movable and being adapted to be urged into separated position by the action of gravity or other suitable means. The thread guide is maintained either at a predetermined light pressure in contact with, or barely out of contact with, the surface of the package being wound, whereby the density and size of the package may be accurately controlled. To accomplish this, the package support and the back may be locked against relative separating movements by suitable escapement means which are adapted to be released intermittently as the package grows in size under the control of means contacting the package such as a feeler roll. This feeler roll is adapted to be rotated upon frictional engagement with the rotating package being wound to effect actuation of means controlling the release of the locking means.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide improved escapement means for a winding machine of the foregoing character.

Another object is to provide improved locking means for the escapement means which are ad- .justable to determine the friction required between the feeler roll and the package to effect release of the locking means.

Another object is to provide means for adjusting the density of the package by means of the feeler roll.

Another object is to provide an escapement having means adapted to take up the back-lash of the gear train of the escapement when the back is pushed against the package.

Another object is to provide a spring for assisting separation of the back and package under the influence of gravity.

A further object is to provide improvements of the foregoing character which are positive in operation, rugged in construction, are not likely to get out of order, and do not require supervision or repair.

Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon an understanding of the illusiii 2 be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description and is shown in a the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the specification, wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of the back and package support portion of a winding machine embodying the present invention with the back retarding means broken away.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary side elevationalview, illustrating in detail the means for retarding separation of the back and package with the cover removed therefrom.

Figure 3 is a front elevational view of the retarding means shown in Figure 2 illustrating details thereof.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of latch control means.

In practicing the present invention, any desired winding machine of commercial construction may be employed insofar as the elements for supporting and rotating the winding spindle and for imparting traversing movement to the thread guide are concerned. Accordingly, in Figure 1 there is shown only one of the upright side frames iii of such a winding machine. A horizontal spindle I i is supported in this frame by suitable journal boxes and is arranged to be rotated at high speed. The spindle has a flange at its inner end and a removable collar at its outer end between which is clamped a cop or bobbin on which the thread package It is to be wound.

A back carrying the thread guide is supported to rock freely about the axis of a shaft [5 projecting outwardly from the side frame I0, whereby the package supporting spindle II and the back are arranged for relative separating movement. The back includes an upwardly extending arm l6 carrying a transversely extending frame l1 provided with a bearing for a slide 18 from which extends an upright arm I!) carrying a thread guide 20. The slide i8 is reciprocated at high speed by a cam mechanism (not shown) to traverse the thread guide 20 back and forth in a longitudinal path parallel to the surface of the thread package ll.

In the upper portion of the frame l1, an elongated yoke II is secured having forwardly extending arms at each end between which is jourtrative embodiment about to be described, or will 58 nalled a long feeler r011 22. This roll is pivoted for rotation or pivotal movement about its longitudinal axis and is adapted to engage the rotating package l4 being wound as it grows in size, whereby the roll is turned about its pivot. Such turning of the roll is utilized to control the separation of the back and package support in response to the growth of the package as will appear hereinafter.

Separation of back and package normally prevented by retarding means herein illustrated (Figures 2 and 3) as an escapement mechanism 25 which is secured to the. side frame In by a bracket 26.

The escapement mechanism comprises a spaced apart pair of side frames 21 and 23 having a rotatable hollow shaft 29 journalled therein having its axis in alignment with'the axis of the shaft l5. The inner end of the shaft extends beyond the side frame 28 and has an arm 30 secured thereto which has a slot 3| at its free end for receiving a stud 32 on an extension 34 of the arm I (Figures 1 and 2), whereby the back and escapement mechanism are operatively connected.

A gear 35 is mounted for rotation on the shaft 23 between the side frames 2'! and 28 and is connected for rotation with the shaft 29 by clutch means comprising a member 35 having a face frictionally engaging one side of the gear 35 and a second member 31 having a face frictionally engaging the other side of the gear 35. In this manner the back can be moved towards and away from the package by applying a force overcoming the clutch friction without imparting rotative movement to the gear 35 through the extension 34, the arm 30 and the shaft 23.

The clutch members 36 and 31 are connected for rotation with the shaft 29 and are connected for rotation with each other by an extension 39 on the member 36 having a slot 43 and an extension on the member 31 having a lateral projection 42 extending into the slot 40. The clutch members are urged to rotate the shaft 29 in a direction to assist moving the back away from the package through the arm 30 and extension 34 by means of a spring 44 coiled about the shaft 29 and having one end secured to the side frame 28 and having its other end secured to the clutch member 31.

Rotation of the gear 35 normally is prevented by an escapement pawl 45 engaging a star wheel 43 which is connected to the gear 35 by a train of gears 48, 49, 50, 5| and 52 rotatably mounted on the side frames of the escapement mechanism 25. The pawl 45 is mounted for oscillating movement to permit the same to move out of and into engagement with the star wheel 45. This is accomplished by a rod 54 extending through the hollow shaft 29 having the pawl 45 secured thereto at one end thereof and having a latch segment 55 secured thereto at the other end thereof.

A device is provided to take up the back-lash of the gear train when the back is pushed against the package which back-lash allows the back to fall away from the package by the amount of back-lash. This device comprises a rotatable rubber covered wheel 56 and a spring-like arm 51 having the wheel 56 mounted on one end thereof and having its other end secured to the cover of the retarding means (Figure 3). When the wheel 56 is manually pushed and turned counterclockwise it engages the star wheel and turns it, which rotates the gear train suiliciently to move the back the amount that it had fallen away.

The segment 55 has a series of detents adapted to be engaged by a latch element 60 (Figures 1,

2 and 4) on one end of an arm 8| pivoted at its other end on a bracket 62 secured to the extension 34 of the back. The latch element shown the arm 6| which are spaced apart by an opening 65. The latch element has upwardly facing edge portions 56 seated in the recesses and has a portion 61 of reduced width extending through the opening 65. The portion 61 has one end of a spring 53, under tension, secured thereto and the other end of the spring is secured to a yoke 10 mounted on the arm 5|.

The latch element is adapted to be moved out of the detents of the segment 55 upon lifting the arm 3|. The latter is accomplished by linkage means mechanically connecting the feeler roll 22 and the arm 6|. As shown herein, such linkage means may comprise a link H such as a wire-like rod having one end secured to the arm 8| and a chain 12 or the like having one end connected to the other end of the link II and having its other end connected to the feeder roll in a manner to exert a pull on the link upon tuming of the feeler roll, whereby the feeler roll causes the latch element to be lifted out of the detents of the segment 55.

In order to control the density of the package being wound, the friction between the package and the feeler roll necessary to effect turning of the latter by the former is varied by increasing or decreasing the force on the chain opposing turning of the roll. This is accomplished by mounting removable weights 14 on a pin 15 secured to the arm 6i. By increasing the number of weights the force opposing the rotation of the roll is increased and likewise the friction necessary to effect rotation of the roll by the package is increased, whereby the roll exerts greater pressure on the package to produce a more densely wound package. The opposite effect is accomplished by reducing the number of weights.

In operation, when the thread package is being wound, the back is moved towards the spindle II by hand with sufficient force to overcome the friction between the clutch members 35 and 31 to position the feeler roll 22 on the surface of the package l4 or the cop on which the package is to be wound. As the package grows in size the friction contact between the feeler roll and package gradually increases until the package effects turning of the feeling roll. The chain 12 is then wound on the feeler roll and exerts a pull which is effective through the link 1| to raise the latch arm 6| to thereby cause the latch element 50 to release the latch segment 55.

When the latch segment is released, the rod 54 carrying the escapement pawl 45 is free to oscillate, thus releasing the pawl to enable the star wheel 46 to rotate step by step. The back is then free to move away from the spindle under the influence of gravity and the spring 44, but the back moves away very slowly due to the train of gears 48, 49, 50, 5| and 52 between the star wheel and the back.

As the back and package separate, the feeler roll is moved out of contact with the surface of the thread package or only lightly contacts the package to permit the roll to return to its initial position under the influence oi the weight of the latch arm 6| connected thereto by the link II and chain II. The latch element then enters one of the detents oi the latch segment 66 to lock the rod 54 carrying the pawl, whereby the pawl prevents further movement of the star wheel. When the package again grows in size these operations are repeated. i

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the present invention provides an improved arrangement for periodically and intermittently locking the back and releasing the back for sepa-- ration with respect to the package. The separation of the back and package is assisted by the spring which together with the influence of gravity provides a substantially uniform separating force throughout the entire range of movement of the back. The take-up enables the feeler roll to be placed in contact with the package at the commencement of the winding operation, whereby the package need not build up prior to being engaged by the roll. This enables the feeler roll to control the density of the package throughout the entire winding thereof. The variable weights for increasing or decreasing the irictional contact between the ieeler roll and the package enable the density of the package to be accurately controlled.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in any limiting sense.

The general arrangement of a latch, package contacting means and a mechanical connection between the latch and the package contacting means, illustrated and described herein, constitutes the subject matter of copending application Serial Number 704.400, filed October 19, 1946, now Patent No. 2,486,031, dated October 25, 1949.

We claim:

1. In a Winding machine comprising a rotatable package support and thread guide supporting means, the supporting means and the package support being relatively movable into separated position under the influence of gravity; the combination of means for contacting the package adapted to be operated thereby as the package grows in size, means for retarding separation of the supporting means and the package support including locking means controlled by said contacting means, and a spring member for assisting the force of gravity to effect separation of the supporting means and the package support.

2. In a winding machine comprising a rotatable package support and thread guide supporting means, the supporting means being movable into separated position with respect to the package support under the influence of gravity; the combination of means for contacting the package adapted to be operated thereby as the package grows in size, escapement means for retarding separation of the supporting means and the package support including a train of gears and locking means controlled by said contacting means, clutch means connecting said train of gears and the supporting means, and a spring member for urging said clutch means in a direction to assist the force of gravity to eilect separation of the supporting means and the package support upon release of said lockin means.

3. In a winding machine comprising a rotatable package support and thread guide supporting means, the supporting means and the package support being relatively movable into separated position under the influence of gravity; the combination of an escapement device including a train of gears for retarding separation of the supporting means and the package support, means connecting said device and the supporting means, and a manually operable device for rotating one of the gears of said train of gears to move the supporting means towards the package support.

4. In a winding machine comprising a rotatable package support and thread guide supporting means, the supporting means and the package support being relatively movable into separated position under the influence of gravity; the combination of an escapement device including a train of gears for retarding separation of the supporting means and the package support, a friction clutch connecting said device and the supporting means to permit the supporting means to be moved manually towards the package support, and a manually operable device for rotating one or the gears of said train of gears to move the supporting means towards the package support through said train of gears and said clutch.

5. In a winding machine comprising a rotatable package support and thread guide supporting means, the supporting means and the package support being relatively movable irito separated position under the influence of gravity; the

, combination of an escapement device including a train of gears, a star wheel and a pawl for retarding separation of the supporting means and the package support, means connecting said device and the supporting means, and a manually operable device for rotating said star wheel to move the supporting means towards the package support through said train of gears and said connecting means.

6. In a winding machine comprising a rotatable package support and thread guide supporting means, the supporting means and the package support being relatively movable into separated position under the influence of gravity; the combination of an escapement device including latch means and a train of gears for retarding separation of the supporting means and the package support, clutch means connecting said device and supporting means, a spring for urging said clutch means in a direction to assist the force of gravity in effecting separation of the package support and the supporting means upon release of said latch means, and a manually operable device for rotating oneoi the gears of said train of gears to move the supporting means towards the package support.

7. In a winding machine comprising a rotatable package support and thread guide supporting means, the supporting means and the package support being relatively movable into separated positions; the combination of means for locking the supporting means and the package support against relative separating movement including a latch, means for contacting the package and operable thereby as the package grows in size, linkage means mechanically connecting said contacting means and said latch constructed and arranged whereby operation of said contacting means effects raising of said latch, and weight means carried by said latch.

8. In a winding machine comprising a rotatable package support and thread guide supporting means, the supporting means and the package support being relatively movable into separated position; the combination of means for locking the supporting means and the package support against relative separating movement including a latch, means for contacting the package and operable thereby as the package grows in size, linkage means mechanically connecting said contacting means and said latch constructed and arranged whereby operation of said contacting means effects raising of said latch, and weight means removably attached to said latch.

9. In a winding machine comprising a rotatable package support and thread guide supporting means, the supporting means and the package support being relatively movable into separated position; the combination of means for locking the supporting means and the package support against relative separating movement including a latch arm, a feeler roll for contacting the package and operable thereby as the package grows in size, linkage means mechanically connecting said feeler roll and said latch arm constructed and arranged whereby operation of said contacting means effects raising of said latch arm, and weight means removably mounted on said latch arm.

10. In a winding machine comprising a rotatable package support and thread guide supporting means, the supporting means and the package support being relatively movable into separated position under the influence of gravity; the combination of an escapement device including a train of gears for retarding separationof the supporting means and the package support, a cover for said device having a slot therein; means connecting said device and the supporting means. and a wheel yieidingly mounted on said cover and manually accessible through said slot for engaging and rotating one of the gears of said train of gears to move the supporting means towards the package support.

11. In a winding machine comprising a rotatable package support and thread guide supporting means, the supporting means and the package support being relatively movable into separated position under the influence oi gravity; the combination of an escapement device including a train of gears, a star wheel, and a pawl for retarding separation of the suporting means and the package support, a cover for said device having a slot therein, a friction clutch connecting said device and the supporting means to permit the supporting means to be moved manually towards the package support, and a wheel yieldingly mounted on the inside of said cover and manually accessible through said slot for engaging and rotating said star wheel to move the supporting 'means towards the package support through said train of gears and said clutch.

, EDWARD J. HEIZER.

MEREDITH R. STUART.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Stahl et al Dec. 7, 1943 Number 

